The number of North Dakota business establishments with paid employees grew 5.9 percent from 2000 through 2006. The 21,332 business establishments in the state employed 278,423 people in mid-March 2006, up 9.1 percent from 255,178 in mid-March 2000.

This month’s “Population Bulletin,” a monthly publication from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University, focuses on the number of North Dakota business establishments with paid employees, business employees and annual business payroll as released by “County Business Patterns,” a U.S. Census Bureau data series published annually. The data focus on the number of single physical locations at which business is conducted.

Total annual business payroll for the state was $8.4 billion in 2006, which was up 38.7 percent from $6.1 billion in 2000. Annual payroll per business employee averaged $30,168 statewide in 2006, up 27.1 percent from $23,737 seven years earlier. Inflation rose 17.1 percent during this time. Nationally, the annual payroll per business employee averaged $39,965 in 2006, which is an increase of 17.5 percent from $34,011 in 2000.

Various service industries, along with retail trade, employ a large proportion of North Dakota’s business work force. Health care and social assistance employed 18.4 percent of the work force in 2006. Accommodation and food services accounted for another 10.5 percent. The retail trade employed 16.1 percent.

Business employment followed similar trends nationwide, with the health care/social assistance and retail trade industries representing the largest business employers in 2006 (13.7 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively).

“What is surprising and noteworthy is the rapid rise in businesses without a fixed location,” says Richard Rathge, State Data Center director. “These businesses, which nearly doubled in number from 2000 through 2006, expanded their paid work force by 114 percent during that time period. One possible reason for this growth is the emergence of employee leasing companies, which may have client businesses in multiple counties.”

Nationally, the number of business establishments grew 7.5 percent between 2000 and 2006. Nevada reported the largest percentage gain in businesses (27 percent), followed by Utah (24.2 percent), Idaho (22.2 percent), Florida (20.7 percent) and Arizona (20.1 percent). Four states (Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan and West Virginia) reported losses.

Approximately half of all North Dakota counties (28 of 53 counties) experienced growth in the number of business establishments from 2000 through 2006.

Data from “County Business Patterns” exclude most government employees, railroad workers and self-employed people. For more information, visit http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html.

NDSU Agriculture Communication